Since its predecessors of the Central Political School and the Central Party Affair School in Mainland China, the National Chengchi University has emphasized on the training of specialists in the affairs concerning Mongolia, Tibet, and overseas Chinese affairs. After the central government moved to Taiwan, National Chengchi University reopened in 1954, with only five departments. The Department of Border Administration was among the first five departments. In 1969, at the order of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Border Administration was renamed the Department of Ethnic Sociology, and the Graduate Institute of Border Administration was established. On August 1, 1990, the Graduate Institute of Border Administration, under the approval of the MOE, was transformed into the Graduate Institute of Ethnology. At that time, the institute only recruited master students but the setup of the Department of Ethnology was immediately planned. This plan was carried out in 1993 under the approval of the MOE. In 2001, the Ph.D. program was established. Since then, the department has been able to provide comprehensive education through its undergraduate, master and Ph.D. programs.

The purpose of establishment of the department is to consolidate the union of ethnic groups, enhance cultural development, facilitate the integration of ethnic groups, fulfill the spirit of the constitution, combine academic and political development, and cultivate talent. The department’s study covers a extensive range, from Chinese ethnology and build a foundation for the teaching and research of this discipline, to the its advanced theories and related policies, and the study of ethnic issues around this world as well. This curriculum design not only echoes government’s current policy of “foothold in Taiwan, concern for Mainland China, and eyes on the world”, but also broadens, deepens, and improves the quality of ethnological research.

Ethnology, the discipline of ethnology, and the teaching and research of ethnology cover the knowledge in the following fields: ethnological theories, ethnological policies, history, culture, religion, spoken and written languages, law, politics, economics (resources and development), society, education, archeology, and ethnology (the study of ethnology, ethnological history, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology). Taking conditions and resources into consideration, the department integrates the fields above and offers different levels of training and integrated knowledge to undergraduate, master and Ph.D. students, in the hope of laying foundations for students’ further development.

Aside from the studies mentioned above, the department has an emphasis on Chinese ethnology. Take ethnological history for example, the department focuses on the training in the ethnological history of Taiwan, North Asia, Mongolia, Tibetans, Tujue (Proto-Turks), etc. Additionally, the department includes ethnological issues worldwide in the curriculum, such as the history of ethnic groups in the world, the current situations of Eurasian ethnic groups, and issues of the Muslims. The department is also planning to include overseas Chinese affairs (overseas development and settlement of the Chinese) as subjects of teaching and research in the future.